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STS-124 day 1 highlights

The highlights from shuttle Discovery's launch day are packaged into this movie.

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Discovery rolls out

Discovery travels from the Vehicle Assembly Building to pad 39A in preparation for the STS-124 mission.

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STS-124: The programs

In advance of shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

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STS-124: The mission

A detailed preview of Discovery's mission to deliver Japan's science laboratory Kibo to the station is provided in this briefing.

 Part 1 | Part 2

STS-124: Spacewalks

Three spacewalks are planned during Discovery's STS-124 assembly mission to the station.

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STS-124: The Crew

The Discovery astronauts, led by commander Mark Kelly, meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

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Shuttle crew closes hatches for undocking Wednesday
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: June 10, 2008

The shuttle Discovery's crew bid farewell to space station commander Sergei Volkov, Oleg Kononenko and incoming flight engineer Gregory Chamitoff today, sharing a few final thoughts, hugs and handshakes before closing hatches and preparing the shuttle for undocking early Wednesday.

Discovery's crew ferried Chamitoff to the station to replace outgoing flight engineer Garrett Reisman after a three-month stay in space. Now a member of Discovery's crew, Reisman had some final advice for his replacement:

"It's a huge responsibility, taking care of this tremendous national asset and the national assets of our international partners," he said, floating with the combined crew in the station's Harmony module. "And if that ever feels like a tremendous burden, just remember this advice I have for you: with great responsibility also comes great power!" Laughing, Reisman continued "you're going to do a fantastic job, from a running start you've been doing absolutely fantastic and you have some great crewmates to help you out, too. You're going to do great."

"For me, this is a very satisfying moment, one I was looking forward to for a long time," Reisman said. "It was not a perfect performance by myself, but I managed not to break anything really expensive. And I'm leaving now with the station in good hands and with a tremendous feeling of satisfaction."

For his part, Chamitoff said he could hardly believe the long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

"It's been an amazing adventure," he said. "Garrett's been a great host for us, he's really helped us with everything, especially me, teaching me the ins and outs of everything on the station," Chamitoff said. "I've really appreciated that very much. Garrett's done an amazing job taking care of this side of the space station, along with Sergei and Oleg. Everything's in really great shape and he's done a great job for NASA and all the international partners.

"It's really sad to see you guys go," Chamitoff said. "But I'm looking forward to the adventure ahead with Sergei and Oleg, getting the (Japanese lab module) up and running, getting the science program started, doing science in the U.S. module and (the European Space Agency's) Columbus."

Reisman, Discovery commander Mark Kelly, pilot Kenneth Ham, flight engineer Ronald Garan, Karen Nyberg, Michael Fossum and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide then floating through a short tunnel into the shuttle and hatches were sealed at 4:42 p.m. to set the stage for undocking at 7:42 a.m. Wednesday.

Over the course of the docked phase of the mission, the astronauts attached Japan's huge Kibo laboratory module, moved a logistics module to its permanent home atop Kibo and staged three spacewalks by Fossum and Garan to outfit the laboratory, install a fresh nitrogen tank for the station's cooling system and test techniques for cleaning a contaminated solar array rotary joint.

"It's really been a wonderful mission from the start up until this point," said lead Flight Director Matt Abbott. "We've got a few days to go, and I couldn't be more proud of this team and this crew for what they've been able to accomplish. ... The one thing that will make me happier is when we get Discovery and the crew safely on the ground and are able to see them on the runway looking up at the vehicle."

Discovery's crew plans to carry out a detailed inspection of the ship's nose cap and wing leading edge panels after undocking Wednesday. They will enjoy time off Thursday before packing Friday for a landing Saturday back at the Kennedy Space Center. Touchdown is expected around 11:15 a.m., weather permitting.

Reisman will make the trip back to Earth resting on his back in a reclining seat on Discovery's lower deck to ease his return to the unfamiliar tug of gravity after 95 days aloft.

During a crew news conference Monday, Reisman, laughing, said seeing his wife was No. 1 on his list of post-landing priorities. Today, he told a reporter "I talked to her last night on our IP telephone from up here and she was furious with me for embarrassing her like that. But the truth is, when I look out the window at the planet and I look down at all the people down there, I'm usually just thinking about just one of all those billions of people. And that's definitely who I'm looking forward to seeing the most."

He said he would miss the station, though, and the sheer fun of zooming about in weightlessness like a super hero.

"The station is enormous, it's really ready now for a six-person crew, we have enough room to spare," he said. "There's actually enough space that you can lose people. You can go from stem to stern and try and find somebody and not find them, that's how big this place is. It's incredibly complex and there's so much equipment up here and so much tonnage of material, it is ready to be utilized, especially now with the addition of this huge Japanese laboratory.

"Daily life, you know, it's extremely busy, especially for me. My whole time up here has been action packed, there hasn't been a dull moment at all. And so it's just a matter of operating this enormous space station. It's really something straight out of science fiction. And when you take a look around, it's just really impressive that we've pulled this off. The best part about it is being able to fly around like a super hero."

Chamitoff is scheduled to return to Earth in November with the crew of the next station assembly mission. He said years of training helped prepare him for his six-month stay in space but "there are definitely aspects of this that the training really, you know, can only do so much to prepare you for."

"The last bit of training is actually from Garrett himself, he's been showing me the ropes on board, showing me day-to-day life on station, how to actually get things done, where to find things," Chamitoff said. "He gave me his phone number. He's probably going to change his number after he gets down there! Anyway, it's been a really good time having him show me how to live up here."

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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: JOINT CREW IN-FLIGHT NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: KIBO LAB'S ROBOT ARM EXTENDED AND CHECKED OUT PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF ROBOT ARM DEPLOYMENT PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF NITROGEN TANK REPLACEMENT PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE VIP CALL TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH SHUTTLE AND ISS CREWS PLAY
VIDEO: KIBO LAB'S ROBOTIC ARM FLEXES FOR FIRST TIME PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF ARM'S FIRST MOVEMENTS PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S DOWNLINKED REPLAY OF LOGISTICS MODULE MOVE PLAY

VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW ASKED TO TAKE PHOTOS OF WING PANELS PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE LOGISTICS MODULE MOVED TO KIBO LAB'S ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: STATION'S ROBOT ARM GRAPPLES LOGISTICS MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH SHUTTLE AND ISS COMMANDERS PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF LOGISTICS MODULE MOVE PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR TOY ON THE LOOSE IN SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS INVITE VIEWERS TO DINNER PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: INSPECTION OF THE PORT-SIDE SOLAR ROTARY JOINT PLAY
VIDEO: FAULTY TV CAMERA REMOVED FROM STATION PORT TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: THERMAL SLEEVE PLACED ON KIBO TRUNNION PIN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH LOCKS RELEASED ON KIBO'S UPPER PORT PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS INSTALL PAIR OF TV CAMERAS ON KIBO PLAY
VIDEO: MIKE FOSSUM EMERGES FROM AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ENTER THE KIBO MODULE FOR FIRST TIME PLAY
VIDEO: CEREMONY BEFORE KIBO HATCH OPENING PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: KIBO SCIENCE LAB ATTACHED TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: KIBO MODULE UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: CLOSEUP INSPECTION OF STATION'S SOLAR ROTARY JOINT PLAY
VIDEO: FOSSUM UNBOLTS LOCKS ON KIBO'S WINDOW COVERINGS PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE COVERS ON KIBO'S PORT PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE POWER UMBILICALS UNHOOKED FROM KIBO PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE INSPECTION BOOM RETRIEVED FROM THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER RON GARAN REMOVES COVER ON BOOM PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER MIKE FOSSUM FREES ARM'S ELBOW CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF KIBO MODULE INSTALLATION PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF INSPECTION BOOM RETRIEVAL PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S REMARKABLE CAMCORDER FOOTAGE FROM MONDAY PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED INTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY DOCKS TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE PERFORMS RENDEZVOUS BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF PREVIEWING THE DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S CAMCORDER FOOTAGE FROM FLIGHT DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF THE HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF DISCOVERY'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: EXTERNAL TANK SEEN AFTER SEPARATION PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: FRONT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-12 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 041 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 049 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 050 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 051 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 054 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 060 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 061 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 063 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY

VIDEO: LIFTOFF OF DISCOVERY WITH KIBO LAB! PLAY
VIDEO: ONBOARD CAMERA FOOTAGE OF TANK FOAM FALLING PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH POLLS GIVE "GO" FOR LIFTOFF PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF KIBO LAB'S PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF DISCOVERY'S PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD GANTRY RETRACTED FRIDAY NIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY ROLLBACK PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON KIBO LABORATORY FACILITY PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT THE CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S COUNTDOWN AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY

VIDEO: NEWS BRIEFING FOLLOWING FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER MARK KELLY PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT KEN HAM PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 KAREN NYBERG PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 RON GARAN PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 MIKE FOSSUM PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 AKIHIKO HOSHIDE PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS DISCOVERY FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY
VIDEO: CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY ENCLOSING DISCOVERY PLAY
VIDEO: PAD'S ORBITER ACCESS ARM SWUNG INTO POSITION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF CRAWLER RETREATING AFTER ROLLOUT PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY ROLLED TO PAD 39A PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: STS-124 MISSION OVERVIEW PART 1 | PART 2
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: KIBO LABORATORY TRAVELS TO THE LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: TRANSPORT CANISTER WITH KIBO ROTATED UPRIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: CRANE PLACES KIBO MODULE INTO TRANSPORT CANISTER PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO FUEL TANK PLAY
VIDEO: THE SHUTTLE MOVES TO THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
MORE: STS-124 VIDEO COVERAGE
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